Changing Worthless into Worthy

I love reading the Bible!  I really do.  Now granted, a few years ago, I never would have imagined myself ever saying that.  The Bible was just always this “book”.  It was always there, but never read.  Sure, we read parts of it every Sunday in church, but that was about it.  The thought of actually reading the Bible was daunting—how on earth would I make sense of the language?  What would those stories mean to me?  Better just leave it there on a shelf to look nice.

Well I’m glad that ultimately, that didn’t happen.  The Bible is now my favorite book.  I’m on my third reading of it now.  Why keep reading it?  Because every time I do there is something different that stands out to me.  Passages that didn’t “gel” with me in a prior reading suddenly spark a thought or reflection.  And more and more I see that this book, written so many years ago, remains meaningful today. 

Right now I’m following a chronological reading of the Bible; so, I don’t get to the New Testament until October!!  Of course it’s the NT that most people are familiar with because of its stories about Jesus.  I used to wonder what the real purpose of the Old Testament was, especially the chapters I’m in now—Kings and Chronicles.  When I first read these sections I thought, “Really?  Why do I need to know what King So and So did all those years ago?”  I won’t lie, sometimes that thought still creeps up as I’m reading!!  Especially when it seems that these kings just didn’t get it-when they followed and worshipped God, all was well.  But when they went off on their own, worshipping other gods, well, that’s when things fell apart.  Bingo!  I don’t think that’s a lesson just for King Ahaz and King Hoshea.

2 Kings 17:15 says this:  “They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless.”

What do I idolize?  Yes, I certainly idolize God above all, but sometimes I falter.  I spend hours online doing…..what?  Certainly nothing that gives my life worth!  Sure, I use that time for work sometimes, other times I’ll use it to learn more about Christianity, but all too often, I’m just using it as a filler.  Because I feel like unless I’m ‘doing’ something, then I’m doing nothing.  I get so proud of myself when I “just” watch TV instead of doing so with a keyboard in front of me!!  And if I spend two hours reading a book (which I did yesterday), there’s a part of me that feels like I wasted time because I was just sitting and reading!  There is something wrong with this thinking!!!

Now, am I about to turn off the computer/internet for good?  There’s a thought.  But when even my mom is now “online” I know that’s not going to happen!  J  Besides, I do use the internet for pursuits that are worthy.  What I need to do is stop using it as filler.  Multi-tasking isn’t always the answer! 

I’ve found that I really enjoy historical fiction lately.  I think the thing that draws me to those types of stories is how simple life was back then.  There was no TV to set to DVR a show, no cell phones going off, no internet or Facebook!  There was a lot of time just spent sitting and reading or talking with family/friends, or visiting different places.  Or embroidering!  Lately, instead of thinking how awful that must have been, I think how GREAT it must have been!  To just be at peace and not worrying about whether someone has replied to my email!! 

Wow, have I gotten off track here?  Truthfully, I don’t even know what track I meant to be on!  I don’t even know what station I left from!!  I just figured that I’d listen to God this morning and write.  He is always on me to do a blog.  I try and try but it doesn’t take.  So I’m trying yet again!  Right now I’m keeping it just for myself to even see if I can do it with any consistency at all.  Once I see that I can, I’ll make it public.  Might as well try to make my time online worth something instead of worthless!!

Standing Firm

Isaiah 7:9  "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."

How am I doing with this?  Do I always stand firm in my faith?  Or do I sometimes "forget" it so that I can seem to go with a more popular, more socially acceptable choice or way of thinking?  And what about when I worry?  I know full well that by worrying, I'm basically saying that I don't trust in God to take care of me.  My faith is certainly not firm then.  It's also not firm when I'm worrying about whether I'm doing right by God; I worry more about what PEOPLE say is right in relation to my walk with Christ.  I forget that it is by God's grace alone that I am saved, not by any works.  God isn't counting how many times I go to church or how many prayers I say.  He knows my heart.  Yet I'm still in that (Catholic) rut of feeling like I have to measure up somehow.  I will NEVER measure up to the perfect model of Christ.  The best I can do is follow Him with all my heart, mind, and soul and strive to live a life that He would be proud of.

Right now, a little girl and her family are suffering greatly.  Ava is the niece of my friend Lizzy, and the grand-daughter of Pastor Joel Hunter of Northland Church, a man I admire greatly.  Ava was recently diagnosed with a fierce form of cancer.  Since all this began about two weeks ago, her dad has been blogging about the experience.  If you want an illustration of standing firm in faith, this family is IT.  Although of course you can tell they are very troubled by this news, what comes through loud and clear in each post is their faith and trust in God and His will for Ava.  I don't know if I would have their strength; I pray that if and when the time comes, I do.  They are facing this cancer head on, knowing that ultimately, what happens with Ava is God's will. 

Is God's will always easy to accept?  Nope.  We don't know the grand plan.  I read one or two quotes last week that illustrated this--that our lives are a book--we only see one page at a time, but God sees the whole story.  A little corny and cliche perhaps, but true nonetheless.  Is that hard to accept when we are going through trials?  Sure it is.  We're human.  God knows that we're going to worry, stress, cry, hurt, get angry, question, etc.  But when we've exhausted all those emotions, He's there waiting for us.  And no matter how many times that cycle repeats itself, the end result will always be--God waiting for us with open arms to comfort us and give us peace.  Our "job" is to let Him.